Building structure



y 15, 1952 H. G. SMITH 2,603,171

BUILDING STRUCTURE SSSSSSSSSSSS Tl INVENTOIF. HO Sm: Th

y 15, 1952 H. (3. SMITH 2,603,171

BUILDING STRUCTURE Filed March 26, 1947 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 INVENTOR.

Horace 6.8mm:

Patented July 15, 1952 BUILDING STRUCTURE Horace G. Smith, WichitaFalls, Tex., assignor of one-half to H. W. Martin, Wichita Falls, Tex.

Application March 26, 1947, Serial No; 737,266

11 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in building structures, and moreparticularly, to roofs for buildings of the character adapted to beopened and closed. with respect to the interior of the building.

Such movable roofs as have been proposed heretoforeusually have requiredtrackage so disposed that the roof may be moved in its entirety into andout of a cOVering position over the building area, and moved ontoseparate supportingstandards externally of the building when it is.moved from the latter. This would not be satisfactory orpracticalxparticularly where the building is erected in close relationto adjoining buildings.

One object of this invention is to improve. the construction of the roofstructure whereby it may be collapsed to present an open top for thebuilding area to admit sunshine or a clear view of the sky either duringthe day or night, and yet may beaclosed readily to provide a covering orprotection over the building area whenever desired.

Another object of the invention is to improve the super-structure of abuilding or the building trusses supporting the roof covering wherebythe trusses may be moved readily to open or closed positions withoutbinding or difiiculty of moving from one position to another, and whichmay be added to thebuilding structure at little addi tional cost orexpense. I

These objects maybe accomplished in, one form of the invention by theprovision of trusses extending over the building area and so mounted onthe building structure as to be moved relative to each other to open andclosed positions, which trusses support the covering material that maybe flexible if desired for collapsing action whenthe trusses are movedinto collapsed relation; These trusses are mounted on tracks tofacilitate the relative rolling actions of the trusses to open or closedpositions, and are supported on the tracks by means of carriagesortrolleys adapted for rolling therealong. Provision is made preferablyfor pivotally connecting each truss with thetrolley or carriage so as toprevent binding action between the trolley or carriage and the trackupon movement of the truss, whereby the rolling action may beaccomplished easily and readily in moving the carriage along thetrackway. g

I This form of the invention is illustrated as one embodiment. thereofin the accompanying drawingsinwhich:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the roof structure 2. of a buildingshowing the application of th-isin vention thereto.

Fig. 2 isadetail side elevation of a portion of the roof structure withthe trussesandroof covering incollapsed position.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailed cross section through one'of. the tracksand carriages.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation thereof partly in sectiontakenon the line 4-4of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a-top plan viewthereof.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of th roof covering showingcable attachment tothe undersidethereof.

The invention is shown 1 as appliedto a building structure includingspaced sidesupe ports I, upon-which the roof is adapted to be mounted.'These supports are shown in the-form of columns although the roof maybe mounted onsupporting walls or other structures'as desired, accordingto the area to be-enclosedby the roof.

Extending;longitudinally of the area on oppositesides thereof are tracks2, each of which is shown as in the form of an I-beam as illustrated inFig.- 3.. The I-beams 2 areshown as being carriage thereon.

The track formed by each I-bea-m 2 is shown as supporting a plurality ofcarriages or trolleys generally designated at'3, normally spaced alongthetracksZ when the roof is in covering position-as indicated generallyin Fig. 1, but capable of being moved along the track relative to eachother for opening or closing the roof with respect tothebuildingenclosure. Each trolley or carriage 3 is shown as riding onthe track 2, being 40 guided by the'upper and lower portions thereof.

In the form illustrated, the I-beam 2 is provided with" track guides 4and 4" on the respective upper andlower edges as illustrated in Fig. 3,which guides are shown as formed by angle bars welded to the edge facesof the I-beam, although other forms of guides may be used as desired,such as semi-round bars.

The trolley or carriage 3*is shown as constructed" with upper and lowerrollers 5 and:6,

arranged inpairsand supported by atrolley framework. comprisinglongitudinal bars I and. 8 connectedtogetherby cross bars 9.; Therollers 5 and dare shown. as of V-groove formtofitincomplementary'relation:onthe tra-ck'guides 4 and. 5.5 4' respectively,although other shapes? maybe thereon but are sufiiciently close so theflanges thereof will not permit accidental separation of the trolley 3from the track. Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 4, the rollers 5 and 6 arespaced from the adjacent ends of the bars I and 8 so the peripheries ofthe rollers do not project beyond the ends of the bars, whereby thecarriages or trolleys 3 mounted on each track 2 may be moved intoabutting relation with each other without binding of the rollers ordanger of injury thereto.

Each trolley or carriage 3 is constructed with a turntable or pivotalmounting which is shown as formed by thrust plates I3 and I4 arranged insuperposed abutting relation and connected together by means of a pivotbolt I6. The thrust plate I3 is shown as fixed, as by welding, to theupper bar I and these thrust plates preferably are arranged inhorizontal positions in the form shown. It is preferable that the boltI6 be so constructed as to form a free pivot for the relative turningmovement of the plates I3 and I4, and by being shouldered or providedwith double locked nuts as indicated, although a journal bushing may beused if desired around the bolt.

Mounted in bridging relation between a pair of carriages or trolleys 3on opposite sides of the roof structure is a truss member I5 which maybe of any suitable form according to the character of roof covering tobe provided. In the form illustrated, however, each truss member isformed with a bottom girder having a skeleton superstructure thereonarranged to form a peak roof. At one or both ends of the roof of thebuilding, is a truss member fixed relative to the building structureasindicated at I5 in Fig. l to form a fixed support for the roof covering.

The several truss members are connected together through flexibledevices such as cables II, that extend between the truss members I 5,preferably at opposite end portions thereof, and are secured thereto asby bolts I8 (Fig. 3),- so as to limit relative longitudinal movementbetween the truss members and the cables. These cables I! serve to limitthe relative extending movement of the truss members with respect toeach other, while permitting the collapsing movement of the trussmembers toward each other, as shown in Fig. 2.

A roof covering is shown at I9 extending over the -truss members I5.This roof covering I9 preferably is of flexible material such as fabricor canvas with suitable provisions for water-proofing thereof, or it maybe formed of resilient material such as sheet rubber, capable ofaccommodating itself to the relative opening or closing movements of thetruss members. .The roof covering I9 should be anchored at H to thetruss members I5 at points such that the covering material will bestretched taut when the truss members are laterally spaced from eachother the desired distances and'yet will yield sufficiently forcollapsing action when the members are moved substantially into abuttingrelation.

While the relative movement of the truss memhers I 5 may be accomplishedmanually or by any suitable means such as a block and tackle, powermechanism may be used for the purpose if desired as illustrated inFig. 1. In this form, winches are shown at 20, 2| in the form of drumsoperated by a power motor 22 through a shaft 22' shown as mounted on thebuilding support at one end of the roof. Winch lines or cables 23 extendfrom the winch drums 20, 2| longitudinally of the roof to the oppositeend thereof. A line 23 preferably is arranged adjacent each oppositeside of the roof to be connected with an end portion of the truss memberat the opposite end of the roof from the fixed truss member I5. Eachcable 23 is fixed or anchored at 24 to the remote truss member I5 andextends over a pulley 25 secured to a fixed part of the building as abeam or wall thereof. Each cable 23 has its opposite ends wound on thewinch drums 20, 2I in opposite directions, so that one end of the cablewill unwind while the opposite end is being wound up on the drum.

The motor 22 may be operated in either direction so as to wind up on thecorresponding drum 20 or 2I, one end of each cable 23. Thus, with theparts in the relation shown in Fig. l, the winding up of the cable onthe drums 20 will cause a pulling action on the endmost movable trussmember I5 drawing it along the tracks 2 toward the fixed truss memberI5. This will continue, successively moving the truss members I5 intoabutting relation with each other at the opposite ends of the trolleysor carriages 3, until all of the truss members have been drawn intonested relation at one end of the roof. The roof covering I '9 whichinitially extended over the entire length of the roof being attached toall of the movable truss members I5 and to the fixed truss member I5, soas to form an effective roof covering, has now been drawn clear of thespace enclosed by the roof to leave this space exposed. This is oftendesirable to present an open top for admitting sunshine or a view of thesky during the day or night.

A reversal of this operation will cause the separation of the trussmembers I5 to the position shown in Fig. 1 and at the same time extendthe roof covering I9 over the truss members to form an effective roofcovering for the building. The cables I! limit the separation of thetruss members relative to each other, which cables may be used asdesired although the roof covering I9 may serve as a sufficient limitingmeans if formed of sufficiently strong material.

Due to the normal erection of the building structure including thetracks 2, a certain amount of misalignment is likely to occur so thataccuracy is not always maintained in the trackways. Likewise, thetrusses I5 are not always accurately manufactured which contributesfurther to some misalignment of the parts. Furthermore, the collapsingmovement of the truss members as well as the pulling actions exertedthereon may not be entirely uniform whereby these may move relative toeach other at the respective opposite ends, which would cause somebinding action of the trolleys or carriages 3 on the tracks 2 if thecarriages were rigidly secured to the respective truss members. However,the pivotal connection provided therebetween at I3-I6 permits someswiveling action of each truss member with respect to the carriage ortrolley to prevent such binding action and to allow for free and uniformrolling of the carriages 0r trolleys along the tracks. Moreover, theholes larger than the outside diameter of the-- b'olt5-='l'6-= soastoprovide for some lateral shifting of fth'e" plates -withrespect toeachlzother to compensate for relativelateralfishifting ofthecarriage'or' troll'ey with respect to'the-'truss memb'er' 15, due

to misalignment-or irregularity of the track 2'.

Bythe arrangementherein-set forth, it' is pos sible to erect amovable-roof structure without the necessity for erecting'oroperating'the mecha nism according toprecision standards, and yet theroof structure will open and close readily as desired. Thus, it ispossible to provide a portable roof over an enclosed area which may beopened and closed readily without the necessity for extending the roofbeyond the building area when: opened. The opening, however, may-beaccomplished by a collapsing of the roof within the building area andyet the roof may be moved to its 'covering positionreadily and quick-lywh'en desired.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in oneembodiment, it. is recognizedthat. variations and changes may be madetherein without departing from the. invention except as specified in theclaims.

I claim:

1. In a building structure, a pair of trackways, wheeled carriagesmounted on the trackways, truss members extending transversely inbridging relation between said trackways and mounted at opposite endportions of said truss members on a pair of carriages on said trackways,and a flexible covering attached to said truss members and extendingthereover to form a roof covering when said truss members are spacedfrom each other.

2. In a building structure, a pair of trackways, wheeled carriagesmounted on said trackways,

truss members extending transversely in bridging relation between saidtrackways, which truss members have their opposite end portions mountedon a pair of carriages on said trackways, a flexible covering attachedto said truss members and extending thereover to form a roof coveringwhen said truss members are spaced from each other, and cablesconnecting said truss members together for limiting the relativeseparation of said truss members with respect to each other.

3. In a building structure, a pair of trackways, wheeled carriagesmounted on said trackways, a plurality of truss members extending inbridging relation between said trackways and each truss member beingmounted on a pair of said carriages for rolling action along thetrackways, said truss members being mounted for movement relative toeach other, flexible means extending between said truss members forlimiting the relative separation of said truss members with respect toeach other, and power means for moving said truss members along saidtrackways.

4. In a building structure, a pair of trackways, wheeled carriagesmounted on said trackways, a plurality of truss members extending inbridging relation between said trackways and each truss' member beingmounted on a pair of said carriages for rolling action along saidtrackways, said truss members being mounted for movement relative toeach other, flexible means extending between said trussmembers forlimiting the relative separation of said truss members with respect toeach other, power means for moving said truss members along saidtrackways, said power means including cables connected with at least oneof said "truss.membersand :a power winch; operas ti v V y connected-vwith: thercablesr truss members extendingin bridgingrela'tion between"said trackways and each truss: member which flexible fabric" isarranged-to fold 'between said tr-uss members; in accordionrelation;upon movement of said'i truss members towardeach other, and means'forming a pivotaliconnection 5, between"said -truss members and eachcarriage for relative --swivelingactionthereb'etween.

6. In a buildingstructure, a pair :of' trackways, wheeled carriagesmounted on said trackways',

truss members extending in: bridging relation between said trackways andeach trussmemb'er being mounted on a -pair 'of :said carriages forrolling'acti'on alongsaid'trackways, flexible fabric" extending betweenpairs of said truss 'members' and attached to cables-extendingtherebetween,"- which flexible fabric is arranged to fold betweensaidtr-uss members, in'accordion relation, upon movement of said trussmembers toward each other, means forming a pivotal connection betweensaid truss members and each carriage for relative swiveling actiontherebetween, said pivotal means including a thrust plate fixed to eachof said carriages and a thrust plate fixed to each of said truss membersin opposed bearing relation with each other, and means pivotallyconnecting said thrust plates together.

' 7. In a building structure, a pair of trackways, wheeled carriagesmounted on said trackways, truss members extending in bridging relationbetween said trackways and each truss member being mounted on a pair ofsaid carriages for rolling action along said trackways, flexible fabricextending between pairs of said truss members and attached to cablesextending therebetween, which flexible fabric is arranged to foldbetween said truss members, in accordion relation, upon movement of saidtruss members toward each other, means forming a pivotal connectionbetween said truss members and each carriage for relative swivelingaction therebetween, said pivotal means including a thrust plate fixedto each of said carriages and a thrust plate fixed to each of said trussmembers in opposed bearing relation with each other, means pivotallyconnecting said thrust plates together, each of said carriages includingwheels mounted on said trackways and spaced on opposite sides of saidpivot means.

8. In a building structure, spaced trackways, a plurality of wheeledcarriages mounted on each of said trackways in end to end alignedrelation, truss members extending in bridging relation between saidtrackways and having each end of each of said trusses mounted on one ofsaid carriages for rolling action along said trackways, and flexiblematerial extending between pairs of said trusses and arranged to foldbetween said trusses, in accordion relation, upon movement of saidtrussestoward each other.

9. In a building structure, spaced trackways, wheeled carriages mountedon said trackways, pairs of truss members extending in bridging relationbetween said trackways and moimted on said carriages for rolling actionalong said trackways, flexible material extending between pairs of, saidtruss members and arranged to fold 52 Irr a building structure', a pair.of trackways', wheeled 'carria'ges mounte'd onv said i trackwaysgtherebetween, in accordion-relation, upon movement of said truss memberstoward each other, and means pivotally connecting an end portion of eachof said truss members with one of said carriages for relative swivelingaction.

10. In a building structure, spaced trackways, a plurality of wheeledcarriages mounted on each of said trackways in end to end alignedrelation, truss members extending in bridging relation between saidtrackways and mounted on said carriages for rolling action along saidtrackways, flexible material attached to said truss members and normallyforming an apex, said material being arranged to fold between said trussmembers, in accordion relation, upon movement of said truss memberstoward each-other, and each of said carriages having a pair of wheelsmounted on said trackway and spaced on opposite sides of an uprightplane passing through said truss members. I V I 11. In a buildingstructure, spaced trackways, a plurality of wheeled carriages mounted onsaid trackways in end to end aligned relation, truss members extendingin bridging relation between said trackways and mounted'on saidcarriages for rolling action along said trackways, flexible materialattached to said truss members and normally forming an apex, saidmaterial being arranged to fold between said truss members, in accordionrelation, upon movement of said truss members toward each other, andeach of said carriages including a frame structure and a pair of wheelsmounted thereonwith the peripheries of said wheels spaced inwardly fromthe opposite ends of said truss members so said flexible material mayextend over said wheeled carriages and said building structure forprotection thereof.

' HORACE G. SMITH.

REFERENCES CI TED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,896,433 Windeknecht Feb. 7,1933 2,229,908 Wenneborg Jan. 28, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number CountryDate 9,021 Great Britain 1885 22,310 Great Britain 1892

